Not A Single Gift Received
Depend on what profession you are in

Written by Mrs. Money





This is a true story happened in between two brothers’ conversation, one of the brothers is a doctor by profession and another one is merely a civil engineer cum third class sub-contractor. One day the doctor brother tongue-in-cheek questioned his younger brother, “I don’t understand why you have to spend so much money on monthly telephone bills to call up people and spend so much money to buy gifts for people during Chinese New Year for people! Look at me; I was the one patients would keep calling and looking up for me and they would shower me with gifts during Chinese New Year!”


This morning, I opened my son’s wardrobe and I found out most of them are getting too small as for two years I didn’t add on any new shirt for my son since I have quitted my job two years ago. When I worked in an oil town, some grateful friends would always buy shirts and toys for my kids, when I become full time jobless Mrs. Money since I move to Kuching city, needless saying there was not a single gift for the poor kids bringing back home by Mr. Money for past seven years.

I worked for almost 30 years in this Malaysian business world; I have seem how cold and realistic human beings acted. Professions like doctors, general managers and politicians are the ones whom people keep showered them with luxury gifts; these are the best professions with status, money and gifts.

I met a car dealer who told me every year he has to ribbon so many imported cars given by timber tycoons so and so to give to so and so big shots.

Big tycoons always have to bride their big shots, the big shots would in return giving him lots of kan tou, but for small third class sub-contractors is the worst profession amongst all dogs eat dogs professions. To win a contract from a contractor … mostly the big companies, the sub-contractor is in such a position that he has to bride, “pay” and “please” used the pennies and smooth talking to path his ways through, from a big tycoon’s employed general manager to QC in order to win a project, then each monthly payments may not be on time, worst as a third class sub- contractor, along facing the sudden inflation raised of diesels, so how much at the end of the day you think a sub-contractor could earn?

A year ago, I overheard a ED of a big company talked to Mr. Money so rudely, I had a shock of how difficult Mr. Money earned his little pennies, besides sharing some of his hard earned pennies with all along from the top to the bottom, he still has to tolerate those big companies’ management staff abusive words and unreasonable ‘new contracts sanctions’ from time to time, yet still have to bow his head said, “Yes sir, yes sir!” Worst incident was once I overheard a company executive director insulted to Mr. Money this way, “I told you lah, Datuk didn’t want to see you! ……… ” The incident was Mr. Money’s car got stolen on that particular day while waiting in a datuk’s office, when the ED learned probably from Datuk’s secretary that Mr.Money didn’t manage make it to see datuk, he could twist his story maliciously.

When I learned that someone could ‘bark’ to Mr. Money in such disrespect and very rude manner, as a wife, what do you feel when you find out your husband is a nobody in somebody’s eye and while you yourself were fully respected in your past profession?

When I noticed how little Mr. Money is in those QC and ED’s eyes, for six months last year end, I was very sick, hurt and down for a while, in this society, a wife’s face is based on her husband’s face. Most of the time, our Chinese women chose not to talk and share in order to hide their problems and agonies, because they are lots of gossips sucking women friends surrounded them anytime ready to hurt the poor victims.

Luckily, only the ability to evoke on my brain to bring such new awakenings to get me out of blues, imagine if the evolution cells of some people’s brains are already crippled! Who on earth don’t want to get married to a husband full of financial secure, respects and dignities? But in another way round, that a look of how hopelessness and desperation could turn some women's life to a better one .... Estee Lauder and Mary Kay could create and build their own empires and rights, when their men unable giving them their needs, dignity, respect and prestige, thus such legends created. Worst are those women with their evolution cells crippled yet their wagging tongue still active!

Just for an example, Foo Chow ladies after married, their status would drop a rank immediately, as their title siew chea would turn to jiung nyu neng (adopted woman), expression in a dialect can foretell how a married woman is being demoted in such clan. So to stay as Mrs.Money, I was demoted as jobless jiung nyu neng with no gift received in all four seasons ….. There is a voice telling me to crawl on ground like a millipede, when there is something touchy and I just need to roll myself like a circle.

I told the two little moneys, “Hey, when you grow up, look out for a job or create a profession which you can earn a lot, don’t need to bride people and people don’t need to bride you, yet in your position can help and benefit a lot of people.” Really got that kind of fantastic profession in this world? May be in a robotic era in year 2222 or in other star!